Super absorbent polymer and preparation method thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a super absorbent polymer and a preparation method thereof. The super absorbent polymer includes surface crosslinked polymer particles prepared by surface crosslinking of particles of a base resin, wherein the base resin is polymerized from a monomer composition including water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomers, and a water-soluble component, wherein the water-soluble component has a ratio (dwt/d(log M)) of 0.9 or less over molecular weights (M) ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 when measured from an eluted solution after swelling the super absorbent polymer for 1 hour, and wherein the content of the water-soluble component is 5% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the super absorbent polymer, when measured after swelling the super absorbent polymer for 1 hour. The super absorbent polymer has excellent liquid permeability even when swollen without a reduction in centrifuge retention capacity or absorbency under load while having improved permeability.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/879,304, filed on Oct. 9, 2015, which is a continuation-in-part of International Application No. PCT/KR2014/009117 filed on Sep. 29, 2014, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0116682 filed on Sep. 30, 2013, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a super absorbent polymer and a preparation method thereof, and more particularly, to a super absorbent polymer having excellent liquid permeability without a reduction in other physical properties, and a preparation method thereof.

(b) Description of the Related Art

A super absorbent polymer (SAP) is a type of synthetic polymeric materials capable of absorbing moisture from 500 to 1000 times its own weight. Various manufacturers have denominated it as different names, such as SAM (Super Absorbency Material), AGM (Absorbent Gel Material), etc. Since such super absorbent polymers started to be practically applied in sanitary products, now they have been widely used not only for hygiene products such as disposable diapers for children, etc., but also for water retaining soil products for gardening, water stop materials for the civil engineering and construction, sheets for raising seedling, fresh-keeping agents for food distribution fields, materials for poultice or the like.

As a preparation process for such super absorbent polymers, a process by a reverse phase suspension polymerization and a process by a solution polymerization have been known. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Nos. S56-161408, S57-158209, and S57-198714 disclose the reverse phase suspension polymerization. The process by the solution polymerization further includes a thermal polymerization method in which a polymerization gel is polymerized while being broken and cooled in a kneader equipped with a plurality of shafts, and a photo-polymerization method in which an aqueous solution with a high concentration is irradiated with UV rays onto a belt to be polymerized and dried at the same time. The hydrogel polymers thus obtained through the polymerization reaction are generally marketed in a powdery form after drying and pulverization processes.

Meanwhile, in the preparation process of the super absorbent polymer, a water-soluble component which is an uncrosslinked polymer is produced. A high content of the water-soluble component increases a liquid absorption property of the super absorbent polymer. However, when the super absorbent polymer is in contact with a liquid, it is easily eluted to make the surface sticky or to cause an unfavorable effect when being in contact with the skin. Further, if the content of the water-soluble component is high, the eluted water-soluble component generally exists on the surface of the super absorbent polymer and it makes the super absorbent polymer sticky, leading to a reduction in liquid permeability which is an ability to rapidly transfer a liquid to other super absorbent polymer.

Accordingly, there is a demand to develop a super absorbent polymer having excellent liquid permeability while maintaining high water absorption property.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to solve the above conventional technical problems, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a super absorbent polymer having excellent liquid permeability even when swollen without a reduction in centrifuge retention capacity or absorbency under load.

Further, another aspect of the present invention is to provide a preparation method of the super absorbent polymer.

In some aspects, the present invention provides a super absorbent polymer including surface crosslinked polymer particles prepared by surface crosslinking particles of a base resin, wherein the base resin is polymerized from water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomers, and a water-soluble component, in which the water-soluble component having a ratio (dwt/d(log M)) of 0.9 or less over molecular weights (M) ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 g/mol when measured from an eluted solution after swelling the super absorbent polymer for 1 hour.

Further, the present invention provides a preparation method of the super absorbent polymer, including the steps of:

-   -   heating or irradiating a monomer composition to form a hydrogel         polymer by polymerization, wherein the monomer composition         contains water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomers and a         polymerization initiator;     -   drying the hydrogel polymer;     -   pulverizing the dried polymer to form particles; and     -   heating a mixture of the particles and a surface crosslinking         solution at a temperature ranging from 180 to 200° C. to form         surface crosslinked polymer particles of the super absorbent         polymer, wherein the surface crosslinking solution contains a         surface crosslinking agent and water at 180 to 200° C.

According to the super absorbent polymer of the present invention and the preparation method thereof, provided is a super absorbent polymer having excellent liquid permeability even when swollen without a reduction in centrifuge retention capacity or absorbency under load while having improved permeability.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

While the present invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments will be illustrated and described in detail as follows. It should be understood, however, that the description is not intended to limit the present invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

As used herein, the term “particle size” refers to a sieve size used to partition the particles, unless otherwise specified.

As used herein, the terms “content distribution”, “molecular weight distribution” or “ratio of dwt/d(log M)” refer to amounts of molecular weights present in a water-soluble component of super absorbent polymer, unless otherwise specified, and these terms can be used interchangeably.

Hereinafter, a super absorbent polymer and a preparation method of the super absorbent polymer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

The super absorbent polymer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes surface crosslinked polymer particles prepared by surface crosslinking particles of a base resin, wherein the base resin is polymerized from water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomers, and a water-soluble component, in which the water-soluble component having a ratio (dwt/d(log M)) of 0.9 or less over molecular weights (M) ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 g/mol when measured from an eluted solution after swelling the super absorbent polymer for 1 hour.

During a preparation process of the super absorbent polymer, a water-soluble component which is an uncrosslinked polymer is produced. The total content of the water-soluble component and the molecular weight of the water-soluble component greatly differ depending on the content of an initiator, polymerization temperature, content of a crosslinking agent, conditions for a surface crosslinking process, etc. during the polymerization.

A high content of the water-soluble component increases a water absorption property of the super absorbent polymer. However, when the super absorbent polymer is in contact with a liquid, it is easily eluted, and thus the surface of a diaper may become sticky or the skin may be damaged. Meanwhile, if the content of the water-soluble component is high, the eluted water-soluble component generally remains on the surface of the super absorbent polymer and makes the super absorbent polymer sticky, leading to a reduction in liquid permeability. Since the absorbency and the liquid permeability are conflicting properties, the super absorbent polymer may have very excellent physical properties by improving both of these properties. In particular, these properties are more important, for example, considering the current trend of slimness of the diaper thickness.

On the other hand, the water-soluble component in the super absorbent polymer may exist in an uncrosslinked form due to an incomplete crosslinking reaction during polymerization. However, most of the water-soluble component may be generated by degradation of the crosslinking agent or breakage of a main polymer chain during a drying process. In this case, a free polymer chain of which one end is crosslinked but the other end is uncrosslinked, rather than a crosslinked chain, is generated, and it is eluted as the water-soluble component when the polymer chain is broken by heat. Such water-soluble component causes a problem of liquid permeability or discomfort in a swollen state by absorbing a liquid, when the super absorbent polymer is applied to a product such as diapers, etc.

In the super absorbent polymer of the present invention, accordingly, the content distribution according to the molecular weight of the water-soluble component is controlled to improve centrifuge retention capacity and liquid permeability and to minimize the water-soluble component which is eluted upon swelling, thereby reducing discomfort. While the super absorbent polymer is swollen, the water-soluble component in the polymer is eluted. At an initial stage, a water-soluble component having a low molecular weight is eluted, and a water-soluble component having a high molecular weight is eluted over time. In particular, upon swelling for 1 hour, a water-soluble component having a molecular weight of 100,000 to 300,000 is mostly eluted. Therefore, it was found that the amount of the water-soluble component upon 1 hr-swelling can be reduced by controlling the amount of the water-soluble component having a molecular weight of 100,000 to 300,000 which mainly influences the amount of the water-soluble component upon 1 hr-swelling, leading to the present invention.

That is, the water-soluble component having a ratio (dwt/d(log M)) of 0.9 or less over molecular weights (M) ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 g/mol when measured from an eluted solution after swelling the super absorbent polymer for 1 hour. More particularly, 1 g of the super absorbent polymer of the present invention is put in a 250 mL-Erlenmeyer flask, and swollen in 200 mL of 0.9% NaCl solution at 25° C. under shaking at 500 rpm for 1 hour. Then, the molecular weight distribution was measured by GPC. With regard to the water-soluble component having a ratio (dwt/d(log M)) over molecular weights (M) ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 g/mol, the ratio is about 0.9 or less, preferably about 0.86 or less, and more preferably about 0.8 or less.

Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the content of the eluted water-soluble component may be about 5% by weight or less, and preferably about 4% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the super absorbent polymer.

When the super absorbent polymer has the content and the content distribution according to molecular weight of the water-soluble component as described above, the water-soluble component which is eluted upon swelling is minimized, thereby reducing discomfort.

The super absorbent polymer may have centrifuge retention capacity of about 26 to about 37 g/g, and preferably about 28 to about 35 g/g, which is measured in accordance with EDANA WSP 241.2.

Further, the super absorbent polymer may have absorbency under load (0.7 psi AUL) of about 20 to about 26 g/g, and preferably about 22 to about 25 g/g, which is measured in accordance with EDANA WSP 242.2.

Furthermore, the super absorbent polymer may have permeability of about 5 to about 200 seconds, preferably about 10 to about 100 seconds, and more preferably about 10 to about 30 seconds, which is calculated by the following Equation 1: Permeability (sec)=Time (sample)−Time (measured in the absence of super absorbent polymer)  [Equation 1]

-   -   wherein Time (sample) (sec) is the time required for an amount         of a 0.9% saline solution to permeate a saline-absorbed super         absorbent polymer under a load of 0.3 psi, wherein the         saline-absorbed super absorbent polymer is prepared by swelling         0.2 g of super absorbent polymer powder with the 0.9% saline         solution for 30 minutes, and     -   Time (measured in the absence of super absorbent polymer) (sec)         is the time required for the amount of the 0.9% saline solution         to flow under the load of 0.3 psi in the absence of the         saline-absorbed super absorbent polymer.

Permeability is an index showing how well a saline solution (0.9% NaCl aqueous solution) permeates the swollen super absorbent polymer, and evaluated by measuring the time taken for 0.9% saline solution to permeate after swelling 0.2 g of the super absorbent polymer powder for 30 minutes and applying a pressure of 3 psi, as described in the literature (Buchholz, F. L. and Graham, A. T., “Modern Super absorbent polymer Technology,” John Wiley & Sons (1998), page 161).

The super absorbent polymer of the present invention having the above characteristics may be achieved by adjusting conditions related to the surface crosslinking reaction. The total content of the water-soluble component and the molecular weight of the water-soluble component greatly differ depending on the content of an initiator, polymerization temperature, content of a crosslinking agent, conditions for a surface crosslinking process, etc. during the polymerization. The conventional method for controlling the water-soluble component is a method of carrying out a post-process such as neutralization after polymerization of the base resin, mixing with an additive, or increasing the content of the crosslinking agent, etc. However, these conventional methods are disadvantageous in that the overall productivity of the super absorbent polymer is reduced, or water absorption property is reduced.

Meanwhile, according to the present invention, the content distribution of the water-soluble component is adjusted by controlling the conditions for the surface crosslinking process without an additional process or injection of an additive, thereby optimizing water absorption property of the super absorbent polymer and physical properties of the water-soluble component, leading to preparation of a balanced polymer.

Therefore, the preparation method of the super absorbent polymer according to another aspect of the present invention includes the steps of heating or irradiating a monomer composition containing the water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomers and a polymerization initiator so as to prepare a hydrogel polymer by polymerization; drying the hydrogel polymer; pulverizing the dried polymer to form particles; and heating a mixture of the particles and a surface crosslinking solution containing a surface crosslinking agent and water at 180 to 200° C. to form surface crosslinked polymer particles.

In the preparation method of the super absorbent polymer of the present invention, the monomer composition includes the water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomers and the polymerization initiator.

The water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomer may be any monomer that is typically used in the preparation of the super absorbent polymer without limitation. Herein, one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of an anionic monomer and salts thereof, a nonionic hydrophilic monomer and an amino group-containing unsaturated monomer, and a quaternary compound thereof may be used.

Specifically, one or more selected from the group consisting of an anionic monomer such as acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic anhydride, fumaric acid, crotonic acid, itaconic acid, 2-acryloylethane sulfonic acid, 2-methacryloylethane sulfonic acid, 2-acryloylpropane sulfonic acid, 2-methacryloylpropane sulfonic acid, 2-acrylamide-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid or 2-methacrylamide-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid, and salts thereof; a nonionic hydrophilic monomer such as acrylamide, methacrylamide, N-substituted acrylate, N-substituted methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethylacrylate, 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate, 2-hydroxypropylacrylate, 2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate, methoxy polyethylene glycol acrylate, methoxy polyethylene glycol methacrylate, polyethylene glycol acrylate or polyethylene glycol methacrylate; and an amino group-containing unsaturated monomer such as (N,N)-dimethylaminoethylacrylate, (N,N)-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate, (N,N)-dimethylaminopropylacrylamide or (N,N)-dimethylaminopropylmethacrylamide, and a quaternary compound thereof may be used.

More preferably, acrylic acid or salts thereof, for example, acrylic acid or alkali metal salts such as sodium salts thereof may be used, and it is possible to prepare a super absorbent polymer having superior physical properties by using these monomers. When the alkali metal salt of acrylic acid is used as the monomer, acrylic acid may be used after neutralized with a basic compound such as caustic soda (NaOH). The basic compound may be used in an amount of about 20 to 60 parts by weight, preferably about 30 to 50 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the acrylic acid.

The concentration of the water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomer may be about 20 to about 60% by weight, preferably about 40 to about 50% by weight, based on the monomer composition. The monomer composition may include a solvent, and the concentration may be properly controlled, considering polymerization time and reaction conditions. However, if the monomer concentration is too low, the yield of the super absorbent polymer may become low and an economic problem may occur. On the contrary, if the concentration is too high, there is a process problem that a part of the monomers is precipitated, or pulverization efficiency is lowered upon pulverization of the polymerized hydrogel polymer, and the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer may be reduced.

In the preparation method of the super absorbent polymer of the present invention, the polymerization initiator used in polymerization is not particularly limited, as long as it is generally used in the preparation of the super absorbent polymer.

Specifically, the polymerization initiator may be a thermal polymerization initiator or a photo-polymerization initiator by UV irradiation, depending on a polymerization method. However, even though the photo-polymerization is performed, a certain amount of heat is generated by UV irradiation or the like and is also generated with exothermic polymerization reaction. Therefore, the thermal polymerization initiator may be further included.

As the photo-polymerization initiator, a compound capable of forming radicals by a light such as UV may be used without limitations in the constitution.

For example, one or more selected from the group consisting of benzoin ether, dialkyl acetophenone, hydroxyl alkylketone, phenyl glyoxylate, benzyl dimethyl ketal, acyl phosphine, and α-aminoketone may be used as the photo-polymerization initiator. Meanwhile, as the specific example of acyl phosphine, commercialized Lucirin TPO, namely, 2,4,6-trimethyl-benzoyl-trimethyl phosphine oxide, may be used. More various photo-polymerization initiators are well disclosed in “UV Coatings: Basics, Recent Developments and New Application (Elsevier, 2007)” written by Reinhold Schwalm, p 115, however, they are not limited to the above described examples.

The concentration of the photo-polymerization initiator may be about 0.01 to about 1.0% by weight, based on the monomer composition. If the concentration of the photo-polymerization initiator is too low, a polymerization rate may become low. If the concentration of the photo-polymerization initiator is too high, the molecular weight of the super absorbent polymer may be decreased and its physical properties may be not uniform.

Further, one or more selected from the group consisting of persulfate-based initiators, azo-based initiators, hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid may be used as the thermal polymerization initiator. Specific examples of the persulfate-based initiators may include sodium persulfate (Na₂S₂O₈), potassium persulfate (K₂S₂O₈), ammonium persulfate ((NH₄)₂S₂O₈) or the like. Examples of the azo-based initiators may include 2,2-azobis(2-amidinopropane)dihydrochloride, 2,2-azobis-(N,N-dimethylene)isobutyramidine dihydrochloride, 2-(carbamoylazo)isobutylonitril, 2,2-azobis(2-[2-imidazolin-2-yl]propane)dihydrochloride, 4,4-azobis-(4-cyanovaleric acid) or the like. More various thermal polymerization initiators are well-disclosed in ‘Principle of Polymerization (Wiley, 1981)’ written by Odian, p 203, however, they are not limited to the above described examples.

The concentration of the thermal polymerization initiator may be about 0.001 to about 0.5% by weight, based on the monomer composition. If the concentration of the thermal polymerization initiator is too low, additional thermal polymerization hardly occurs, and thus the addition effect of the thermal polymerization initiator may not be sufficiently obtained. If the concentration of the thermal polymerization initiator is too high, the molecular weight of the super absorbent polymer may be decreased and its physical properties may be not uniform.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the monomer composition may further include an internal crosslinking agent. Such internal crosslinking agent may be a crosslinking agent which has one or more of the functional group capable of reacting with a water-soluble substituent of the water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomer and has one or more ethylenic unsaturated groups; or a crosslinking agent which has two or more of the functional group capable of reacting with a water-soluble substituent of the monomer and/or a water-soluble substituent formed by hydrolysis of the monomer.

Specific examples of the internal crosslinking agent may include bisacrylamide having 8 to 12 carbon atoms, bismethacrylamide, poly(meth)acrylate of a polyol having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, poly(meth)allylether of a polyol having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, etc. More specifically, one or more selected from the group consisting of N,N′-methylenebis(meth)acrylate, ethyleneoxy(meth)acrylate, polyethyleneoxy(meth)acrylate, propyleneoxy(meth)acrylate, glycerin diacrylate, glycerin triacrylate, trimethylol triacrylate, triallylamine, triarylcyanurate, triallylisocianate, polyethyleneglycol, diethyleneglycol and propyleneglycol may be used.

Such internal crosslinking agent is included at a concentration of about 0.01 to about 0.5% by weight based on the monomer composition so as to crosslink the polymerized polymer.

In the preparation method of the present invention, the monomer composition of the super absorbent polymer may further include an additive such as a thickener, a plasticizer, a preservation stabilizer, an antioxidant, etc., if necessary.

The components of a monomer composition, such as the above described water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomer, photo-polymerization initiator, thermal polymerization initiator, internal crosslinking agent and additive, can include a solvent.

In this regard, a solvent capable of dissolving the above ingredients may be used as the solvent without limitations in the constitution, and for example, one or more selected from water, ethanol, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, methyl amyl ketone, cyclohexanone, cyclopentanone, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol ethylether, toluene, xylene, butyrolactone, carbitol, methyl cellosolve acetate and N,N-dimethylacetamide may be used in combination.

The solvent may be included in any suitable amount based on the total weight of the monomer composition. In one embodiment, the solvent may be included in an amount ranging from about 20 to about 75% by weight, preferably about 40 to about 70% by weight, based on the total weight of the monomer composition.

Meanwhile, the method for forming a hydrogel polymer by thermal polymerization or photo-polymerization of the monomer composition is not particularly limited in the constitution, as long as it is a method typically used.

Specifically, the polymerization method is largely classified into the thermal polymerization and the photo-polymerization according to the polymerization energy source, and the thermal polymerization may be carried out in a reactor like a kneader equipped with agitating spindles and the photo-polymerization may be carried out in a reactor equipped with a movable conveyor belt. The above described polymerization method is an example only, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, as described above, thermal polymerization is performed by providing hot air to a reactor like a kneader equipped with the agitating spindles or by heating the reactor so as to obtain the hydrogel polymer. At this time, the hydrogel polymer may have the size of centimeters or millimeters when it is discharged from the outlet of the reactor, according to the type of agitating spindles equipped in the reactor. Specifically, the hydrogel polymer may be obtained in various forms according to the concentration of the monomer composition fed thereto, the feeding speed or the like, and the hydrogel polymer having a weight average particle size of 2 to 50 mm may be generally obtained.

Further, as described above, when the photo-polymerization is carried out in a reactor equipped with a movable conveyor belt, the hydrogel polymer typically obtained may be a hydrogel polymer in a sheet-type having a width of the belt. In this regard, the thickness of the polymer sheet may vary according to the concentration of the monomer composition fed thereto and the feeding speed, and the polymer sheet is preferably controlled to have a thickness of about 0.5 to about 5 cm. If the monomer composition is fed so that the thickness of the sheet-type polymer becomes too thin, the production efficiency becomes low, which is not preferred. If the thickness of the sheet-type polymer exceeds 5 cm, the polymerization reaction may not uniformly occur throughout the polymer due to the excessively high thickness.

In this regard, the hydrogel polymer thus obtained by the method may have typically a water content of about 40 to about 80% by weight. Meanwhile, the term “water content”, as used herein, means a water content in the total weight of the hydrogel polymer, which is obtained by subtracting the weight of the dry polymer from the weight of the hydrogel polymer. Specifically, it is defined as a value calculated by measuring the weight loss according to evaporation of water in the polymer during the drying process of increasing the temperature of the polymer with infrared heating. In this regard, the water content is measured under the drying conditions which are determined as follows; the temperature is increased from room temperature to about 180° C. and then the temperature is maintained at 180° C., and the total drying time is determined as 40 minutes, including 5 minutes for the temperature rising step.

Next, the step of drying the hydrogel polymer thus obtained is performed.

If necessary, a coarsely pulverizing step may be performed before the drying step, in order to increase the efficiency of the drying step.

In this regard, a pulverizing device applicable may include, but the constitution is not limited, any one selected from the group consisting of a vertical pulverizer, a turbo cutter, a turbo grinder, a rotary cutter mill, a cutter mill, a disc mill, a shred crusher, a crusher, a chopper, and a disc cutter, but is not limited thereto.

In this regard, the pulverizing step may be performed so that the hydrogel polymer has a particle size of about 2 to about 10 mm.

To pulverize the polymer to have a particle size of less than 2 mm is technically not easy due to a high water content of the hydrogel polymer, and agglomeration may occur between the pulverized particles. If the polymer is pulverized to have a particle size of more than 10 mm, the effect of increasing the efficiency in the succeeding drying step may be insignificant.

The hydrogel polymer pulverized as above or immediately after polymerization without the pulverizing step is subjected to a drying process. In this regard, the drying temperature of the drying step may be about 150 to about 250° C. When the drying temperature is lower than 150° C., there is a concern that the drying time becomes excessively long or the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer finally formed may be deteriorated, and when the drying temperature is higher than 250° C., only the surface of the polymer is dried, and thus there is a concern that fine powder may be generated during the subsequent pulverization process and the physical properties of the super absorbent polymer finally formed may be deteriorated. Therefore, the drying process may be preferably performed at a temperature of about 150 to about 200° C., and more preferably about 160 to about 180° C.

Meanwhile, the drying process may be carried out for about 20 to about 90 minutes, considering the process efficiency, but is not limited thereto.

Furthermore, any known drying method may be selected and used in the drying step without limitation in the constitution if it can be generally used for drying the hydrogel polymer. Specifically, the drying step may be carried out by a method of supplying hot air, irradiating infrared rays, irradiating microwaves, irradiating ultraviolet rays or the like. When the drying step as above is finished, the water content of the polymer may be about 0.1 to about 10% by weight.

Next, the dried polymer obtained from the drying step is subjected to a pulverization step.

The polymer powder obtained from the pulverization step may have a particle size of about 150 to about 850 μm. Specific example of a milling device that can be used to achieve the above particle size may include a pin mill, a hammer mill, a screw mill, a roll mill, a disc mill, a jog mill or the like, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The physical properties of the super absorbent polymer powder finally manufactured after the pulverization step may be properly controlled through a sorting step according to the particle size of the polymer powder obtained from the pulverization. Only a polymer having a particle size of about 150 to about 850 μm is preferably sorted and then selectively applied to the surface crosslinking reaction and finally, it is commercialized.

Next, a surface crosslinking reaction is performed by mixing the pulverized polymer with a surface crosslinking solution containing a surface crosslinking agent and water.

The surface crosslinking is a step of increasing the crosslinking density in the vicinity of the surface of the super absorbent polymer particle with regard to the internal crosslinking density of particles. In general, the surface crosslinking agent is applied to the surface of the super absorbent polymer particle. Therefore, this reaction occurs on the surface of the super absorbent polymer particle, which improves crosslinking on the surface of the particle without substantially affecting the interior of the particle. Thus, the surface-crosslinked super absorbent polymer particles have a higher level of crosslinking in the vicinity of the surface than in the interior.

In this regard, a compound capable of reacting with the functional groups of the polymer may be used as the surface crosslinking agent without limitations in the constitution.

To improve the properties of the produced super absorbent polymer, one or more selected from the group consisting of a polyhydric alcohol compound; an epoxy compound; a polyamine compound; a haloepoxy compound; a condensation product of the haloepoxy compound; an oxazoline compound; a mono-, di-, or polyoxazolidinone compound; a cyclic urea compound; a polyvalent metal salt; and an alkylene carbonate compound may be preferably used as the surface crosslinking agent.

Specific examples of the polyhydric alcohol compound may be one or more selected from the group consisting of a mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, or polyethylene glycol, monopropylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, dipropylene glycol, 2,3,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol, polypropylene glycol, glycerol, polyglycerol, 2-butene-1,4-diol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, and 1,2-cyclohexane dimethanol.

Further, the epoxy compound may be ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, glycidol, etc. and the polyamine compound may be one or more selected from the group consisting of ethylene diamine, diethylene triamine, triethylene tetraamine, tetraethylene pentamine, pentaethylene hexamine, polyethylene imine, and polyamide polyamine.

Further, the haloepoxy compound may be epichlorohydrin, epibromohydrin, or α-methylephichlorohydrin. Meanwhile, the mono-, di-, or polyoxazolidinone compound may be, for example, 2-oxazolidinone.

Further, the alkylene carbonate compound may be ethylene carbonate, etc. These may be used singly or in combination. On the other hand, to increase the efficiency of the surface crosslinking process, one or more of polyhydric alcohols are preferably included in these surface crosslinking agents. More preferably, polyhydric alcohol compounds having 2 to 10 carbon atoms may be used.

The amount of the surface crosslinking agent added may be suitably controlled according to the kind of the surface crosslinking agent added or the reaction conditions, and it may be typically used in an amount of about 0.001 to about 5 parts by weight, preferably about 0.01 to about 3 parts by weight, and more preferably about 0.05 to about 2 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer.

When the amount of the surface crosslinking agent used is too small, the surface crosslinking reaction hardly occurs, and when the surface cross-linking agent is used in an amount of more than 5 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer, the absorptivity and the physical properties may be decreased due to excessive surface crosslinking reaction.

In this regard, the surface crosslinking agent may be added in the form of a surface crosslinking solution by mixing it with additional water. When water is added, there is advantageous in that the surface crosslinking agent can be evenly dispersed in the polymer. In this regard, the amount of water added thereto may be preferably about 1 to about 10 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer for the purpose of inducing uniform dispersion of the surface cross-linking agent, preventing agglomeration of the polymer powder, and optimizing the surface penetrating depth of the cross-linking agent at the same time.

Further, the surface crosslinking solution may further include a substance such as a metal salt, silica, etc.

With regard to the method of adding the surface crosslinking solution to the polymer, there is no limitation in the constitution. A method of adding and mixing the surface crosslinking solution and the polymer powder in a reactor, a method of spraying the surface crosslinking solution onto the polymer powder, or a method of continuously feeding the polymer and the surface crosslinking solution to a mixer which is continuously operated may be used.

As described above, the total content of the water-soluble component and the molecular weight of the water-soluble component greatly differ depending on the content of the initiator, polymerization temperature, content of the crosslinking agent, conditions for the surface crosslinking process, etc. during the polymerization. According to the present invention, a super absorbent polymer having the above described water-soluble component distribution may be prepared by controlling the temperature within a specific range during the surface crosslinking process.

According to the preparation method of the super absorbent polymer of the present invention, the surface crosslinking reaction is allowed to occur by heating the surface crosslinking solution-added polymer particles at about 180 to about 200° C., preferably at about 180 to about 190° C. When the reaction temperature is within the above range, a super absorbent polymer having the above described properties of water-soluble component may be obtained.

Further, the surface crosslinking reaction and drying may occur at the same time by heating for a crosslinking reaction time of about 15 to about 90 minutes, preferably about 20 to about 80 minutes. If the crosslinking reaction time is as short as less than 15 minutes, sufficient crosslinking reaction may not occur, and if the crosslinking reaction time exceeds 90 minutes, the polymer particles are damaged due to excessive surface crosslinking reaction, leading to deterioration in the physical properties.

A means for raising the temperature for surface crosslinking reaction is not particularly limited. Heating may be performed by providing a heating medium or by directly providing a heat source. In this regard, the type of the heating medium applicable may be a hot fluid such as steam, hot air, hot oil, or the like. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The temperature of the heating medium provided may be properly controlled, considering the means of the heating medium, the heating rate, and the target temperature. Meanwhile, as the heat source provided directly, an electric heater or a gas heater may be used, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

With regard to the super absorbent polymer prepared by the preparation method of the present invention, the content of the eluted water-soluble component is 5% by weight or less, when measured after adding 1 g of the super absorbent polymer in a 250 mL-Erlenmeyer flask, and swelling it in 200 mL of 0.9% NaCl solution at 25° C. under shaking at 500 rpm for 1 hour, and the water-soluble component having a weight average molecular weight of 100,000 to 300,000 has 0.9 or less of a ratio (dwt/d(log M)) of the molecular weight distribution to the log value of the weight average molecular weight (M), when measured by GPC.

Further, the super absorbent polymer prepared by the preparation method of the present invention has centrifuge retention capacity of about 26 to about 37 g/g, and preferably about 28 to about 35 g/g, which is measured in accordance with EDANA WSP 241.2, and absorbency under load (0.7 psi AUL) of about 20 to about 26 g/g, and preferably about 22 to about 25 g/g, which is measured in accordance with EDANA WSP 242.2, thereby showing excellent centrifuge retention capacity and absorbency under load.

According to the preparation method of the present invention, provided is a super absorbent polymer having excellent liquid permeability even when swollen without a reduction in physical properties such as centrifuge retention capacity, absorbency under load, etc.

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following Examples. However, the following Examples are for illustrative purposes only, and the present invention is not intended to be limited by these Examples.

EXAMPLE Example 1

A monomer composition in a form of aqueous solution including 100 parts by weight of acrylic acid (water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomer), 30 parts by weight of NaOH, 0.03 parts by weight of potassium igacure 651 (photo-polymerization initiator), 0.3 parts by weight of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (crosslinking agent), and 110 parts by weight of water as a solvent was prepared. The contents of components other than the acrylic acid were defined as parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the acrylic acid. The monomer composition was fed at a feed rate of 500 mL/min to 2,000 mL/min on a conveyor belt having a width of 10 cm and a length of 2 m and rotating at a speed of 50 cm/min.

While the monomer composition was fed, UV having an intensity of 10 mW/cm² was irradiated, and polymerization was allowed for 60 seconds. After polymerization, the resultant was cut with a meat chopper, and then dried using a convection oven at 160° C. for 5 hours, followed by pulverizing and sorting processes. Thus, a polymer having a particle size ranging from 150 to 850 μm was obtained.

Based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer, 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene carbonate, 5 parts by weight of methanol, and 4 parts by weight of water were mixed with each other, and then surface treatment reaction was allowed in a convection oven at 190° C. for 40 minutes so as to prepare a super absorbent polymer.

Example 2

A super absorbent polymer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer of Example 1, 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene carbonate, 5 parts by weight of methanol, and 4 parts by weight of water were mixed with each other, and then surface treatment reaction was allowed in a convection oven at 200° C. for 40 minutes.

Example 3

A super absorbent polymer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer of Example 1, 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene carbonate, 5 parts by weight of methanol, and 4 parts by weight of water were mixed with each other, and then surface treatment reaction was allowed in a convection oven at 180° C. for 80 minutes.

Example 4

A monomer composition in a form of aqueous solution including 100 parts by weight of acrylic acid (water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomer), 30 parts by weight of NaOH, 0.03 parts by weight of potassium igacure 651 (photo-polymerization initiator) and 0.5 parts by weight of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (crosslinking agent), 0.1 parts by weight of 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (crosslinking agent) and 110 parts by weight of water as a solvent was prepared. The contents of components other than the acrylic acid were defined as parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the acrylic acid. The monomer composition was fed at a feed rate of 500 mL/min to 2,000 mL/min on a conveyor belt having a width of 10 cm and a length of 2 m and rotating at a speed of 50 cm/min.

While the monomer composition was fed, UV having an intensity of 10 mW/cm2 was irradiated, and polymerization was allowed for 60 seconds. After polymerization, the resultant was cut with a meat chopper, and then dried using a convection oven at 160° C. for 5 hours, followed by pulverizing and sorting processes. Thus, a polymer having a particle size ranging from 150 to 850 μm was obtained.

Based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer, 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene carbonate, 5 parts by weight of methanol, and 4 parts by weight of water were mixed with each other, and then surface treatment reaction was allowed in a convection oven at 190° C. for 40 minutes so as to prepare a super absorbent polymer.

Example 5

A super absorbent polymer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 4, except that based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer of Example 4, 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene carbonate, 5 parts by weight of methanol, and 4 parts by weight of water were mixed with each other, and then surface treatment reaction was allowed in a convection oven at 200° C. for 40 minutes.

Example 6

A super absorbent polymer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 4, except that based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer of Example 4, 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene carbonate, 5 parts by weight of methanol, and 4 parts by weight of water were mixed with each other, and then surface treatment reaction was allowed in a convection oven at 180° C. for 80 minutes.

Comparative Example 1

A super absorbent polymer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer of Example 1, 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene carbonate, 5 parts by weight of methanol, and 4 parts by weight of water were mixed with each other, and then surface treatment reaction was allowed in a convection oven at 210° C. for 20 minutes.

Comparative Example 2

A super absorbent polymer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer of Example 1, 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene carbonate, 5 parts by weight of methanol, and 4 parts by weight of water were mixed with each other, and then surface treatment reaction was allowed in a convection oven at 175° C. for 90 minutes.

Comparative Example 3

A super absorbent polymer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 4, except that based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer of Example 4, 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene carbonate, 5 parts by weight of methanol, and 4 parts by weight of water were mixed with each other, and then surface treatment reaction was allowed in a convection oven at 210° C. for 20 minutes.

Comparative Example 4

A super absorbent polymer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 4, except that based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer of Example 4, 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene carbonate, 5 parts by weight of methanol, and 4 parts by weight of water were mixed with each other, and then surface treatment reaction was allowed in a convection oven at 175° C. for 90 minutes.

Experimental Example Measurement and Comparison of Permeability, Centrifuge Retention Capacity and Absorbency Under Load

Permeability was measured using a 0.9% saline solution under a load of 0.3 psi, as described in the literature (Buchholz, F. L. and Graham, A. T., “Modern Super absorbent polymer Technology,” John Wiley & Sons (1998), page 161).

In more detail, 0.2 g of particles having a particle size of 300 to 600 μm were taken from the super absorbent polymers (hereinafter, referred to as a sample) prepared in Examples and Comparative Examples, and added to a cylinder (Φ20 mm), wherein the cylinder has a stopcock on one end, an upper limit mark and a lower limit mark thereon. The upper limit mark on the cylinder is indicated at the position of which 40 ml of (saline) solution is filled into the cylinder, and the lower limit mark on the cylinder is indicated at the position of which 20 ml of (saline) solution is filled into the cylinder.

50 g of 0.9% saline solution was added to the cylinder with the stopcock in a closed position, and left for 30 minutes. Then, if necessary, additional saline solution is added to the cylinder to bring the level of saline solution to the upper limit mark on the cylinder. Then, the cylinder including the now saline-absorbed swollen super absorbent polymers is pressurized with a load of 0.3 pounds per square inch (psi), and left for 1 minute. Thereafter, the stopcock at the bottom of the cylinder was open to measure the time taken for the 0.9% saline solution to pass from the upper limit mark to the lower limit mark on the cylinder. All measurements were carried out at a temperature of 24±1° C. and relative humidity of 50±10%.

The time taken to pass from the upper limit mark to the lower limit mark was measured for respective samples and also measured in the absence of the super absorbent polymers, and permeability was calculated by the following Equation 1. Permeability (sec)=Time (sample)−Time (measured in the absence of super absorbent polymer)  [Equation 1]

Time (sample) (sec) is the time required for an amount of a 0.9% saline solution to permeate a saline-absorbed super absorbent polymer under a load of 0.3 psi, wherein the saline-absorbed super absorbent polymer is prepared by swelling 0.2 g of super absorbent polymer powder with the 0.9% saline solution for 30 minutes, and

Time (measured in the absence of super absorbent polymer) (sec) is the time required for the amount of the 0.9% saline solution to flow under the load of 0.3 psi in the absence of the saline-absorbed super absorbent polymer.

Centrifuge retention capacity was measured in accordance with EDANA WSP 241.2. 0.2 g of the sample sorted through 30-50 mesh (particles size ranging from 300 μm to 600 μm) was put in a tea bag, and swollen in the 0.9% saline solution for 30 minutes. Then, water was removed therefrom by centrifugation at 250 G for 3 minutes, followed by weighing. Centrifuge retention capacity was determined by measuring the amount of water retained in the super absorbent polymer.

Absorbency under load (0.7 psi AUL) was measured in accordance with EDANA WSP 242.2. In detail, after uniformly distributing 0.9 g of the sample of 850 to 150 μm in a cylinder regulated in the EDANA method and then pressing the sample with a pressure of 0.7 psi by using a piston and a weight, the absorbency under load was calculated as the amount of the 0.9% saline solution that was absorbed for 1 hour.

Centrifuge retention capacity, absorbency under load and permeability of Examples and Comparative Example thus obtained by the above methods are shown in the following Table 1.

TABLE 1 Centrifuge retention Absorbency under load Permeability capacity (g/g) (0.7 psi AUL; g/g) (sec) Example 1 34.8 25.5 153 Example 2 33.8 23.2 123 Example 3 34.7 23.8 161 Example 4 28.8 23.9 21 Example 5 27.6 22.8 14 Example 6 28.5 22.9 33 Comparative 34.5 24.9 363 Example 1 Comparative 38.3 11.2 948 Example 2 Comparative 27.2 22.5 71 Example 3 Comparative 31.0 13.4 851 Example 4

Analysis of Water-Soluble Component

1 g of the super absorbent polymers having a particle size ranging from 150 μm to 850 μm prepared in Examples and Comparative Examples was put in a 250 mL-Erlenmeyer flask, and swollen in 200 mL of 0.9% NaCl solution at 25° C. under shaking at 500 rpm for 1 hour. The aqueous solution was passed through a filter paper, and the filtrate was primarily titrated to pH 10 with 0.1 N caustic soda, and then back-titrated to pH 2.7 with 0.1 N hydrogen chloride solution. The content (% by weight) of water-soluble component in the super absorbent polymer was calculated from the obtained titration in accordance with EDANA WSP 270.3.

100 μL of that aqueous solution that was passed through the filter paper was injected into GPC instrument for measurement. GPC was performed on an instrument manufactured by Wyatt DAWN EOS, Wyatt Optilab DSP, Waters, or Wyatt using Ultrahydrogel Linear X2 as a column, 0.1 M NaNO₃/0.02 M phosphate buffer as a solvent under the conditions of a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min and a temperature of 60° C., and polyacrylic acid was used as a standard.

The analysis results were obtained as dwt/d(log M) for log M (M is a molecular weight of eluted water-soluble component), and thus log M values were converted to M values, thereby obtaining dwt/d(log M) for each molecular weight of 100,000, 200,000, or 300,000.

The measurement results of the water-soluble components of Examples and Comparative Examples are shown in the following Table 2.

TABLE 2 Content of water-soluble component (free welling for dwt/d(logM) dwt/d(logM) dwt/d(logM) 1 h; % by (M: (M: (M: weight) 100,000) 200,000) 300,000) Example 1 3.8 0.623 0.859 0.792 Example 2 4.3 0.613 0.850 0.819 Example 3 3.5 0.597 0.783 0.745 Example 4 2.6 0.662 0.826 0.784 Example 5 3.1 0.625 0.814 0.794 Example 6 2.5 0.682 0.820 0.751 Comparative 6.6 0.708 0.910 0.803 Example 1 Comparative 7.8 0.661 0.892 0.815 Example 2 Comparative 5.8 0.695 0.921 0.713 Example 3 Comparative 6.3 0.751 0.884 0.821 Example 4 

What is claimed is:
 1. A preparation method of a super absorbent polymer, comprising: heating or irradiating a monomer composition to form a hydrogel polymer by polymerization, wherein the monomer composition contains water-soluble ethylene-based unsaturated monomers and a polymerization initiator; drying the hydrogel polymer; pulverizing the dried polymer to form particles; and heating a mixture of the particles and a surface crosslinking solution at a temperature ranging from about 180 to about 200° C. to form surface crosslinked polymer particles of the super absorbent polymer, wherein the surface crosslinking solution contains a surface crosslinking agent and water, wherein the super absorbent polymer includes a water-soluble component having a ratio (dwt/d(log M)) of 0.86 or less over an entire range of molecular weight ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 when measured from an eluted solution after swelling 1 g of the super absorbent polymer in 200 ml of 0.9% NaCl solution at 25° C. for 1 hour, and wherein the water-soluble component is present in an amount of 5% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the super absorbent polymer, when measured from an eluted solution after swelling 1 g of the super absorbent polymer in 200 ml of 0.9% NaCl solution at 25° C. for 1 hour.
 2. The preparation method of claim 1, wherein the monomer composition includes a internal crosslinking agent.
 3. The preparation method of claim 2, wherein the internal cross linking agent is present in an amount ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 wt % based on the monomer composition. 